Building a lifestyle business

December 14, 2018, By admin

Welcome to the new revolution of the lifestyle business! As the internet has revolutionised companies by offering the ability to streamline processes, cut out the ‘middle man’ and enable company owners and staff to work from home or away, so too have new types of businesses emerged.

At the beginning of 2018, 5.6million small businesses were recorded in the UK. Whilst lifestyle businesses can take time, commitment and self-drive to develop, they also offer rewarding lifestyles to those who wish to earn money but prefer more flexible way of working.

The internet has changed the historical and traditional 9-5 UK working day. Staff with intense commutes can now be offered the flexibility to work a mixture of hours. Some may choose to work at home during rush hour or specify designated days of the week. Parents can now work once their children have gone to bed, whilst this type of working also allows individuals to make an extra income outside of their main job.

There are also cost savings for businesses too by working in this way. It means that companies can choose to operate in a leaner way by not having to pay full monthly rents or may operate ‘hot desks’, therefore reducing the requirement for office space.

So what suggestions are there out there for a lifestyle business?

Professional blogging – Knowing your subject and striking up a debate creates the best bloggers. Whilst bloggers offer information freely, revenues are created as the audience grows by up-selling further information such as e-books, creating tailored packages which can benefit customers and revenues can also be gained from sponsors and advertisers who want to reach the blogger’s audience.

Writers & journalists – Writers and journalists need the freedom to write and be inspired so that they can offer clients the best quality of writing. Travelling and therefore experiencing global occurrences means more interesting content.

Consultants and advisors – Businesses don’t always need to place staff in full-time positions but do need to draw on the expertise in certain job roles and consultants are usually specialists within their own fields. By contracting consultants and advisors on a free-lance basis, overheads can be kept low for companies, whilst for the contractor, it allows them to supply their services to many different companies, but within their own desired timetable. Technology, health, travel, finance, law and property sales / management are some examples where consultants are used within business.

Online Retail & E-commerce – Business owners who run these types of companies also have the freedom to operate within their own scheduled timetable. Whilst online retail & ecommerce websites are still expected to meet their customer’s expectations and fulfil orders, they can do so at a time that suits them. The added benefit is that they don’t have to meet face to face or even speak on the telephone – an email or response through social media works just as well.

Drop shipping & Amazon FBA – This is similar to the online retail and e-commerce method in that goods are dispatched through an online website; however, rather than the business owner managing their own website and dispatch process to fulfil their orders, drop shipping facilities such as Amazon FBA can be used to carry out the whole process. It also means that online retailers don’t even have to manufacture or handle a product but can merely choose what the brands they would like to sell and then promote through online marketplaces and other similar selling sites. Working in this way reduces over heads and manpower to a business, whilst the fulfilment companies gain by taking a cut by offering these types of services on their behalf to much larger audiences.

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